Archive for “Fund Your Business”

One lesson I learned the hard way as a founder is that investors never like to say “no.” They especially don’t like to say “yes,” but “no” is almost as difficult to get out of them. Why? Well, because they never want to completely close the door on what could eventually be a massive missed [...]

Entrepreneur Creates Global, Vitamin Supplement and Skincare Business As entrepreneurs, we all know the road to business success is full of challenges. No one knows this better than Warren Matthews, the founder and chairman of Xtend-Life Natural Products, Intl., Ltd., www.xtend-life.com. I recently caught up with Warren to get his success tips. Here’s what he [...]

National speaker shares insights on how to start and grow a successful business Do have dreams of becoming wealthy, balancing home and work effectively and even meeting famous people like Oprah Winfrey, Bill Clinton or the President of the United States? Introducing Theo Nix, Jr., Esq., a successful attorney and Generational Wealth Coach at www.generationalwealthcoach.com who [...]

In the United States, the liquidity of our markets promotes entrepreneurship, innovation and corporate growth. Most entrepreneurs, steadfast in their efforts, can usually access the financing they need. However, in other countries accessing capital can be a long and arduous process with limited options. I gained a greater appreciation for the structure of our banking [...]

Small companies usually operate on a shoestring marketing budget. They do not have the luxury of hiring professional expertise or purchasing big ads in popular magazines. For this reason, their marketing efforts must be very focused and disciplined to gain the greatest benefit. The importance of branding cannot be underestimated. A distinctive brand strategy builds [...]

Successful Real Estate Investor Now Educates Others Recently, I received an e-mail from Patrick Riddle of Private Money Blueprint, www.privatemoneyblueprint.com, talking about his history of dropping out of school to pursue a new dream of becoming a real estate investor. Like some of the top business owners in the country, Patrick made his entrepreneurial dreams [...]

In regard to this financial education guide for parents, here’s what Robert had to say:

Why did you write this book?

I wrote “Why ‘A’ Students Work for ‘C’ Students” for parents because parents are a child’s first and most important teachers—and they have an important job to do. They can truly influence the future of their children, because if they don’t teach their kids about money, they can’t on the school system to do it. Schools teach kids what the school system believes they need to get a good job… which, from my point of view, sets them up to be slaves to a job and a paycheck all of their lives. My poor dad was a well-educated school teacher with a Ph.D., but I struggled in school. I didn’t get good grades and flunked out of high school—twice. In fact: I hated school. But I love to learn. Today, I (the “C” student) hire “A” students, like accountants and attorneys, to work for me.

The financial crisis has just started and as more countries and baby boomers go broke, who do you think will foot the bill for life-support? Your kids, that’s who. And it’ll take the form of higher taxes. That’s why I wrote this book. I want to encourage and support parents who want to give their child a financial head start in life. And it starts with understanding money.

Since the school system is not giving children a financial education, are they teaching our kids to be poor?

I think schools are teaching kids to be poor, but worse than that they’ve teaching them to be slaves to a paycheck. That could be one of the reasons why the dropout rate is so high in schools today. As a young kid back in the ‘50s and the ‘60s, I kept asking my teacher, “Why don’t you teach me anything about money?” I never got an answer to that question.

And today, most schools still don’t teach kids about money. Whether we’re smart or stupid, rich or poor; we all use money in our everyday lives. It’s an important life skill and it’s up to parents to fill the void.

We’ve got to teach our kids about money because the United States is broke. We’ve spent billions on public education, and poverty keeps increasing. The rich get richer, the middle class is getting squeezed harder and harder… and the poor are getting poorer and poorer. What’s wrong with this picture?

Then, do you think parents should train their children to be entrepreneurs?

Only a child can decide that. I wouldn’t decide that for them. I don’t think there’s anything more pathetic than some kid who does what his parents want him or her to do. Instead, give your kids some financial education and then they can make their own choices later on in life.

If your children do not have a financial education, then they will probably end up being an employee or a self-employed specialist. And today, employees pay at least 40% of their money in taxes and the self-employed pay about 60%. Meanwhile, people who own large businesses pay only about 20%, and investors with a high level of financial education and well-structured investments can often pay nothing—0%—in taxes. Very often the people who end up paying the most in taxes are the ‘A’ students who get out of school and become doctors, lawyers and attorneys.

Kids who have a financial education will have more choices in life and not be stuck working for someone else or living off government hand-outs.

What can a parent do to start giving their child a financial education?

I outline some specific activities—Action Steps for Parents—at the end of each chapter of the book, but the most important thing is to make your home an active and fun learning environment. And it doesn’t need to be difficult. You can play games like Monopoly® and CASHFLOW®, discuss the day’s news and learn new, financial vocabulary words each day.

Every day we make real-life decisions about money so start sharing this information with your children. For example, show them what happens when you don’t pay your bills, how tax payments are taken from your paycheck or how you plan for unexpected expenses. You can also help them set up their own small business to learn about money and investing firsthand.

The point is to teach your kids about money at home because they are not going to get a financial education in school.

Thanks so much for your time Robert!

For more information about Robert Kiyosaki’s new book, “Why ‘A’ Students Work for ‘C’ Students—and ‘B’ Students Work for the Government,” visit www.richdad.com.

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Insights on “Why ‘A’ Students Work for ‘C’ Students—and ‘B’ Students Work for the Government” In an exclusive for StartupNation, Robert Kiyosaki, successful entrepreneur, investor and author of the #1 Personal Finance book of all time, “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” offered his insights related to his new book, “Why ‘A’ Students Work for ‘C’ Students—and [...]

When you’re creating strategies to grow your business, your finance leaders are a big part of the planning process… right? Well, don’t forget your IT members too. While your finance people are busy crunching the numbers, they may not be aware of how technology can help them do their jobs faster and more accurately. Don’t [...]

Recently, StartupNation was approached by FutureDash, and they had a lot to say about crowdfunding. Here’s what CEO Kevin Strong had to say… Tell us about your business. FutureDash is a technology startup focused on an energy management solution called EnergyBuddy, www.energy-buddy.com. It gives homeowners and small businesses awareness of their energy usage, helping them [...]

I love to write fun posts about the exciting life of a mompreneur, managing time better, balancing entrepreneurship & kids, and organizational suggestions, BUT this week, I am too busy for a little fun. It happens to the best of us, and this week I am GUILTY as charged. I over-scheduled, over-planned, and over-committed myself. [...]

Recently, I attended a book signing for Robert Kiyosaki’s new, best-selling book, “Unfair Advantage – What Schools will NEVER Teach You About Money.” The author of the number one personal finance book of all time, “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” investor, entrepreneur, educator, and co-host of the new radio show, “What Does It Mean to You?”, [...]

“My site is optimized for the search engines, and it’s not showing up online.” Yep. I hear this a lot. And unfortunately, I have to tell a lot of entrepreneurs that they just wasted their money. Maybe you can relate? Did you just spend a lot of time and money on a search-engine-optimization (SEO) service [...]

I recently spoke to Kimberly Palmer. She’s the senior editor and personal finance columnist for US News & World Report. And in addition to appearing on NBC’s Today show, CNBC, CNN, and local television and radio shows nationwide, she has also written for the Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and the Asahi Shimbun/International [...]

So I just got off of a publicized teleseminar with one of the top gurus in the information marketing industry. But get this… there were only three people on the call! I couldn’t believe it! Here I had access to free information and answers that could make me money… so I asked question after question [...]

Finding funding for a business is a process that involves presenting your ideas to potential sources of funding, introducing your potential, and asking them to help you realize your dream. In return, however, your investors will likely hope to either take the reigns, make back their investments and then some, and also wash their hands [...]

Especially for the first-time entrepreneurs out there, a lot of times there tends to be some misconceptions about what it takes to land seed funding for your startup. Presupposing that your founding team does not include guys with massively successful startup pasts (such as founding a YouTube or even a Mint.com), the investor dance can [...]

Today, we find out the scoop on running a successful, small business from Neal Belitsky, the CEO of American Roads, LLC, www.americanroads.com. His company has remained profitable during tough, economic times. Here’s what Neal had to say about this: Tell us about American Roads and how you became involved in this business. American Roads is [...]

One of the most important, and yet the least understood part of your business financing is how your business will be structured. You can choose one of six options: Sole Proprietorship, General Partnership, Limited Partnership, Limited Liability Company, C Corporation or S Corporation. You will find that each of these differ to the degree of [...]

We have all heard the horror stories of big business pitted against small business. The classic David and Goliath tale played out from Wall Street to Main Street with all kinds of financial causalities in their wake. While the tales may differ, the moral is the same. The big fish will always try to eat [...]

I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen an increase in small-business marketing budgets in the last few weeks. More small businesses are realizing that they need to market and promote their services more than ever to get their piece of the consumer’s shrinking budget. After all, if you don’t get your name [...]